Woman escapes robber on east side

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Nov. 20, 2013)– When Timothy McCoy stepped outside his apartment at Wellington Village in the 1800 block of Wellington Avenue to warm up the car just before dawn, he didn’t notice an armed man slipped into his building behind him.

When McCoy reentered his apartment he was taken hostage along with Takeetha Berry and her five year old son as the gunman stole pills and money.

The trio was then herded into a Gray Ford Taurus and driven to the Lawrence area to retrieve more money from an automatic teller machine when Berry spotted a nearby police officer, escaped the car and ran for help.

An IMPD K9 unit was unable to track the suspect who wore a black ski mask, jacket and cargo pants.

“It took courage to do that,” said IMPD Lt. Chris Bailey. “She took the opportunity to save her and her family from any kind of harm and luckily the Lawrence officer was there and he was able to provide some aid.”

Neighbors on Wellington Avenue wonder if the suspect is a resident of the complex who had been watching to building to spot an opportunity to commit a home invasion.

“I do think so because its not something anyone is just going to come randomly off 21st Street,” said Madison Cunningham who lives in the complex not far from Shadeland Avenue, “drive all these apartments and specifically, or ironically, just pick this building. I mean, they had to have been looking out. It had to have been somebody they kept an eye on.”

Detectives will review police reports looking for similar crimes and review recent prison parolee lists to see if any previous offenders have moved back into the neighborhood.